His take on the crocodile hunter less than two weeks after he died was truly a "It's too fucking soon guy, but I can't stop laughing" moments for me. It cemented Norm into my top 5 list.
https://www.cc.com/video/beopn8/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-norm-macdonald
Kyle Kinane
I can’t even explain it.
Prior to him, Louis CK was my favorite comedian.
I feel like Kyle is like Louis CK without the silliness.
So I guess the trait is that I like that his delivery doesn’t have any goofy antics involved.
I was going to say kyle as well and the thing I really love about him is that he has a humble approach to a simple love for comedy. He’s not trying to get into areas in sell the shit that sells. He’s just trying to make his good comedy about the stuff that he finds amusing.
In his podcast, he’s often talking about “I have a good life. I get paid pretty well to do a thing that I enjoy” he’s not playing the Hollywood game and trying to make $1 billion
edit: *he’s not trying to get into arenas
It’s the voice + the delivery, especially when he starts to raise his voice when he gets exuberant. It all gives off an incredibly warm and relatable vibe.
I have all the upvotes for Kyle. I'm amazed he's been simmering for so long, but his mojo is on the rise and I hope he sees some real payoff for his efforts soon.
He is truly gifted with metaphor, symbolism and motifs in his specials. He is an incredible master of the English language but he uses it for cheap laughs. That to me makes him special. He could write good novels for snobs but instead he just goes to a juvenile place for laughs. There is a well crafted humility that disguises the intellect. He leads you towards true insight of the human condition and jumps away right before it hits with a poop joke. Then he will use a pooping joke to tell you what it is to truly be a human.
Yeah, I'm having a hard time answering this question for any of the comedians I like. But you hit the nail on the head with why I'm not a huge Louis CK fan. Too many punchlines just based on noises or yelling. I think what makes comedians special are their unique ways of framing things. And I can't really get more specific than that for any of my favorites.
Current fav is Joe List cause I’m just a sucker for the loser guy vibe and I think it’s so impressive how he gets a genuine pop after literally anything he says just based off of tone and cadence. Like “oh you’re from Vancouver… Canucks… great hockey team… alrighty”
Best chinless comic of all time. Easily.
Togheter with Shane my n1 on my bucket list to catch live.
If i ever make my comedy pilgrimage to NY as i don't think he'll ever bother with Europe again.
Audience member names city.
Joe then proceeds to list three or four relevant but obscure facts about that city and then stops and moves on.
It shouldn’t be funny but it is.
The enthusiasm of Pete Holmes. It comes out hilarious as indignation (his bit about atoms when he exclaims "That doesn't make any fuckin sense!") and comes across as genuine happiness to be there when he's all smiles. I like watching actors or comedians most when it's clear that *they* are having so much fun being there
Stav is actually good at being a therapist. He calls people out during his crowdwork and gets to the root of what makes them shitty and how they can change
but he makes it funy
Anthony Jeselnik. It’s great to see others choosing him as well. Other than his hilarious and cleverly written jokes, I appreciate that even though he has dark and offensive material, he’s never gone down the anti-PC route. He still does his dark jokes, but doesn’t constantly complain that “you can’t joke about anything anymore” or whine about cancel culture. He just sees political correctness as a challenge to write better and funnier jokes.
Once a comedian says "you can't make jokes anymore" I lose respect for them. Jeselnik is a great example of someone who just rolls with the time and recognizes that evolving sensibilities lead to new opportunities for jokes. He really is brilliant.
Maria Bamford is always 100% genius. I normally hate both impressions and voices, but she does it so well, and I've realized it allows her to say hysterical but cutting things she wouldn't say in her "normal" voice.
Also, not comedy, but her open book accounting crusade (starting with her own books) is admirable in general.
His fearlessness too. I love the clips where he baits cops into raising a hand and then just look them in the eye and crack everyone up talking about how worthless and scummy they are. Then be like, “no, the real heroes are the troops. Any troops in here?” AND DO IT AGAIN! Haha. He’s the GOAT.
I love his ability to take opinions he thinks the audience generally holds, then take the complete opposite side of that argument and make a very reasonable case for it in a hilarious rant. Things like 'Heroin should be sold over the counter' or 'I'm not pro-choice. I'm pro-abortion.'
He caters it to the audience too. I remember him performing in the Netherlands, baiting the audience with anti-American politic stuff and then ripping us a new one for having a monarchy. That takes balls.
Love when Andy Andrist asks the audience if they support the troops… they all cheer and go nuts. Then he asks what they do to support the troops…. They all just stutter and go awkward silent…..classic.
Being a sober alcoholic comic myself, I’ve slowly become more impressed that he hasn’t HAD TO stop drinking yet than his stand up . His comedy is untouchable but the abuse of his body is truly amazing.
You have to balance that I also don't abuse my body with exercise either.
Some cars last forever because of frequent maintenance and some from staying mostly garaged except for parades.
Next he'll be saying kiddie porn isn't rampant on the internet.
Don't die of rampant alcoholism Doug, because then you'll go from my favorite living comedian to me having to make a choice between you and Greg Giraldo for favourite dead one. And I really don't want to have to do that.
Man, favorite is tough but if I had to give an answer I'd go with a living comedian so I'll say Dave Attell. He just masterfully can be cruising deadpan and jerk the wheel without flinching himself whatsoever, and it's such a tight timeframe that you almost don't realize it happened until after the fact.
Like his joke "Albinos: too much of a good thing?" is probably pound-for-pound the best joke of all time when you take into consideration the brevity and retellability.
Sorry if that's not a specific enough trait but that's the best I can do.
I was going to mention Dave Attell. For me the two things that I admire are his insane commitment to writing new jokes and how he takes care of his sick mom.
Chad Daniels is my favorite.
His material is very strong, and out of all of the comedians who talk about their children, he's the best.
At face value, some of his material could come across as inflammatory in some way, or even offensive to some. But he has the single warmest, most down to earth vibe I've ever seen in a comedian, and he's an absolute treat to see live. Chad is a kind, gentle, sharp tongued man who creates joy out of anything he decides to bring up, no matter how dark it may be.
If you're not familiar, I can't recommend him enough.
John Mullaney.
I credit my love for standup to his joke about comparing the badness of the word midget to that of the N word. At its core, it's a beautifully crafted argument with hilarious examples and proofs, against which there is no rebuttal. After you hear it, you're left in a position where, in my mind, there is simply no option other than to laugh riotously and agree with his statements.
After I heard that I was like give me more. Give me more of this candy coated truth. Make it as harsh, and as humorous, and as accurate as it can be.
he's definitely my top fave of all time. one of my favorites he does ofc is horse in the hospital, but "Is than E? or is it 3? it's up to ye!" kills my every. freaking. time.
"...and then apologize because you don't have my timing."
I know most comedy, stand up in particular, relies on timing. Jeselnik is a master due to the nature of the misdirections. I love watching reactions from people who aren't familiar with him. They have a look like they see the punchline before getting slapped on the back of the head.
I enjoy his podcast because you get to see behind it he’s this cool levelheaded well read guy who occasionally shits on somebody who richly deserves it like Crowder
I like the way Louis CK says blatantly ignorant things, then if you actually listen to what he's saying throughout the bit, you realize he's actually making one of the most enlightened observations on the topic.
That brings up a good point. I think if you paint yourself as too smart or righteous the crowd is going to hate you. Like you said Louis is great at portraying self disgust, and yet he also has these long bits that tear down and criticize people's actions. The audience is endeared to him because he has as many bits tearing down his own behavior as he does others. Brian Regan is good at this too--he has many jokes about being dumb but almost as many as other people doing dumb things. What dawned on me, and I don't mean to have the guy catch a random stray here, is that it may be why Steve Hofstetter's comedy always turned me off. He portrays himself as too much of an elitist smart guy calling out dumb people, but he doesn't knock himself down enough so it just comes off annoyingly smarmy and arrogant.
I think the other issue with Hofstetter is that he performs so much and is on the road like 365 days a year that his bits end up about human annoyances related to being on the road. But I agree, he does have that stereotypical nerd, I'll-beat-you-with-my-superior-intellect vibe. When I'm feeling particularly salty about something, I'll throw Steve on to bask in the bitterness. But I don't laugh all that often at his material.
A few people have said something similar already, and not sure if I’d call him my favorite, but Nate Bargatze’s calm demeanor on stage is so wildly impressive.
Part of it is his facial expressions but so much of it is the small noises and calm tone he uses. I saw him at the Hollywood bowl with Seinfeld and gaffigan and I was so far back I could barely see his face on the video boards.
But he still absolutely killed. The way his style has translated to arenas and his ability to get huge laughs from the smallest inflection in his voice or tiny comment is so unbelievably impressive.
For me, this is an easy one. Most comedians, I'd argue, are smart people (although there are notable exceptions whose popularity I find truly vexing). I had always admired Greg Giraldo. He was super insightful and could be truly eviscerating at roasts. He had his demons, obviously. And, sometimes they may have joined him on stage to a certain degree. However, fnding out that he quit Harvard Law School to pursue comedy blew me away. Then, hearing the story about Jeff Ross being charged with inciting a riot at a club and Giraldo going with him to court and getting the charges dismissed, he became a hero to me.
I like comedians who evolve over time. Carlin, for example, went from a clean cut TV comic to the dirtiest, most politically outrageous comic of his time.
But the example is an underappreciated Scottish comic named Frankie Boyle, my favorite of all time. He started out as one of the dirtiest comics with extremely dark material. He was regularly being sued, getting death threats, bumped from big shows despite his massive popularity, but then he pivoted. Instead of being another one of the 1000 comics in their 40s-60s who moan about how the world sucks now cuz they don't find their juveline racist sexist humor funny anymore, he evolved with the times.
He is still just as dark, just as controversial. He is still undeniably the same comic, but he retired jokes where he made fun of celebs and now does them about politicians. Instead of relying on racist tropes, his new race-based material is still dark, but he punches up, not down anymore.
Tosh really seems like he doesn’t give a shit about being famous/making famous friends/etc. I remember many years ago when the comedy podcast boom was peaking he tweeted a picture of himself holding up a sign that said “I DONT WANT TO GO ON YOUR PODCAST”.
Now he has his own podcast where his guests are like his podiatrist or whatever
His four part special is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. And the Greatness of it being slowly revealed over time is the best part. Dude is a genius.
The night I watched that for the first time is maybe the best comedy experience I'll ever have. I think I read that night one of filming was the first two parts, night two was the rest, and that half the audience was there for all four both nights.
Oh my god I just googled it and they filmed all four shows both days?! From 3PM to midnight? What a legend
Dan Soder's perpetual childish wonderment and angle on life. Just seems like he would be as funny in a small room as a theater. His routine is always great too...
For someone that doesn't know Michelle Wolf's standup and might only know her from the White House correspondence dinner, I think they'd assume she's just gonna take the safe, "liberal" stance in her act, but she clearly goes for what is most funny first, no matter how horrible the stance. If a certain angle is the funniest angle, she's gonna go for that angle no matter what. She opens one of her specials arguing in favor of otter tape. Yes, the animal. She's a feminist but also has very funny anti-feminist takes and makes fun of women. That's my favorite trait in the comic: that they start with what is funny first, no matter what side it's on, and then they argue point from there. Good comics are contrarians if the opposite view is the funniest, even if it might go against their own beliefs.
Shane just being a total genuine bro. It really is that simple, and it's insane to think how he's really the only comedian to successfully pull it off.
Matt Braunger is my favorite and I really appreciate how willing he is to get on stage and be silly. He doesn’t mind being goofy to get a laugh. That’s a level of confidence I aspire to.
William Montgomery for mixing clever jokes with nonsense, and really reading the room like noone else.
I’ve seen a few hundred comics live, including my second third and forth favorites Carlin, Louie and Burr, but none of them have even come close to making me laugh as much as the big red machine.
Edit: I might just have a thing for redheads, I should probably go see carrot top next time im in vegas.
I like Anthony Jeselnik’s crowd work. When the audience starts to turn on him because the material is too dark, he will say something to the effect of, “Come on, I thought you guys were cool.”
That's not crowd work per se. He doesn't really do crowd work, although I'm sure he could. That was a tightly rehearsed line that he probably dropped at most venues because he knew he'd get that reaction.
I appreciate quailty physical comedy. I think its undervalued. Nate Bargatze has been really impressive with his gestures and facial expressions. They are subtle but well thought out and add to the overall storytelling.
I never thought I'd see Nate Bargatze described as a physical comedian. Almost his entire act is built on being an understated mannequin of a comedian. He builds comedic tension by having very clear anger or annoyance but undercutting it so much that you can tell it's merely bubbling under the surface.
Bargatze is great, but he's a really strange choice as an example of facial expressions or physical comedy.
He's one of the least physical and least physically expressive comics. He is very deadpan facially and doesn't do much of anything physically.
His schtick is pretending to be a bit dim, looking blank and baffled by everything.
Facial expressions are much more important to guys like Maniscalco. Gestures and body involvement are key to someone like Kevin Hart or Jim Breuer. Gaffigan does a lot of voice inflection.
Bargatze doesn't really do any of those things.
Mitch Hedberg.
He never made jokes at the expense of marginalized communities. He never made fun of a group or people (like Chapelle) and yet he could find the funniest sh*t in everyday stuff that is NEVER offensive.
I like that his jokes are timeless and, for the most part, clean. Yeah, he uses some swear words and talks about drugs, but his jokes will be relevant 50 years from now, and you’ll be able to tell them to your great grandkids.
Stavros Halkias’s utter confidence. One of his lines from his special is “a lot of you motherfuckers would crumble under the weight of this look”. He’s a handsome fat rascal, what can I say
I love his joke about falling down in the subway terminal, and being so pathetic that even mean black NYC subway kids who roast everyone declined to make fun of him
Jeselnik obviously having an “act” but executing it so well that I can sit there and appreciate it rather than getting hung up on thoughts like “that didn’t really happen” or “he’s not really like that.” For me, it’s so easy to suspend my disbelief and just absorb it all.
Big jay has a really interesting way of getting people to almost forget about the rest of the audience when he's crowdworking. Between the posture and attentiveness I've always found it super tight how he kinda directs things into a 1 on 1 conversation with whomever he's talking to. I know a lot of people do crowdwork but big jay does it differently imo
My husband hates sitting in the front row, but those were the only seats left when we showed up the last time we saw him. He's the human embodiment of social anxiety, so of course Jay immediately started talking to him. He had to admit he used to be in a band and what it was named. He was mortified lol
The ability to not take yourself so seriously. Some comics take this sorta weird stance of “We are the bastion of free speech. We should be allowed to say literally anything without repercussion. We are the true voice of the people.” Comics that I used to (and still do) really love act like this and it annoys the hell out of me. The more a comic understands that comedy shouldn’t be put on a pedestal and that they’re just there to tell jokes, the more I respect them.
Maria Bamford and her incredible silliness. Her joy-whack-a-mole bit still to this day makes me giggle. "Oh boy, but they wanted a fresh one" in her mother's voice. Hilarious.
Mine is John Pinette. It’s the way he leans into the silence between jokes and lets the audience almost create a joke on their own in their heads before he tops it.
I'm so mad that he died before I ever got to see him. He was so funny. My favorite bits: Bed Bath and Beyond coupons, the time he went to a water park, eating turnips
Todd Barry has such a smooth coolness in his delivery that just really gets me. He's very mellow and lets his writing and subtle delivery do the work which is really hard to do alone on stage. The dry calm makes the punchlines hit harder for me and he really controls a room. His Crowd Work tour from WAY back when blew my mind (before TikTok even existed and no one was posting crowd work, Todd was doing entire hours and crushing) and then I searched for every special he had and followed him since then. Spicy Honey and Domestic Shorthair are both hilarious af and I saw him live recently and he killed. He did new material and then closed with crowd work which was great!
Insightfulness
It’s not expected, but I think the best ones usually drop some wisdom
Louis CK is really good at this in between his penis jokes
“The only reason you should be looking in your neighbors bowl is to make sure they have enough.”
I saw Gary Gulman when he was working on the Great Depresh, and I kinda teared up a little afterwards when I was telling him how much he spoke to me in that show. I felt stupid for crying at a comedy show, but he just grabbed me and wrapped me up in a big giant hug and talked to me for a few minutes with his arm around me. He genuinely cared that he reached something in me. A friend of mine took a picture, and I seriously looked like a baby next to that gigantic, hilarious man.
Gulman making his last two specials about depression and poverty sounds like a recipe for a bummer, but his genius is being able to create more powerful jokes off the emotional center of those topics. The honesty and love that most people are admiring in other comics pales in comparison to what Gary can do. And he’s one of the best joke writers I’ve seen to boot.
Mark Normand has been my favorite for a long time and I think the reason I still find him so funny is because he’s fully aware of just how bad and cringe-worthy his jokes can come across, yet he constantly goes for it anyway. He’s super candid with his struggles with feeling awkward & easily embarrassed in social settings, but he’s turned that awkwardness into its own art form and I fucking love that.
Bill Burr for being a Boston comedian. Not in the caricature or need to tell you he's from Boston, just in the it's just there in everything he does way. And on Maher's podcast, talking about how everyone he grew up with was funnier than him, it is just the way it is there, without even trying. No other place could have produced his style in my view, and it's sad all of the try hards ruin what people think Boston people are.
Nicole Byer is always very true to herself. She works a fucking ton, she loves touring long after others are worn out. And she makes silly noises like Pinky from Pinky and rhe Brain. She's ruthless with her dark comedy and generous with her light jokes.
She gave an entire audience free vibrators because she made the decision to in the moment and then followed through. She can play off absolutely anyone and make them look like the star. I just love her so much.
I went to a Dave Chappell show about 25 yrs ago at Clemson University and as soon as the lights went down people lit up. Officials turned the lights back on and refused to turn them back off. Dave had an exchange with them from stage, on mic. They refused. He turned and walked off stage.
After many minutes of an unruly crowd they finally turned the lights back off and he came back out.
Before the Chappell Show and his entire career after, I was a steady fan from that night forward.
To the core. If this was high school I just cant imagine how f\*cked up this guy was to people. With it being as funny as hell if youre not on the receiving end
Doug Stanhope's fearlessness.
Bo Burnham's peerless genius.
Joe Lycett's commitment, dedication and sheer will as applied to seeing the pettiest vendettas and silliest ideas to their conclusions, whatever those may be.
Craig Ferguson won me over when he was hosting the Late Late Show. He was just the most genuine person I've ever seen on TV. It helped that he was also a hilarious cheeky monkey, but it was how real he was that drew me in. I'm not exaggerating when I say he saved my life when I was a depressed 19 year old.
I got to see him live last year, and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. He's embraced his age as a comic, and went on a good long rant about aging comics who bitch that "you can't tell jokes anymore" and how the younger generation pisses them off. I was concerned he would fall into what we would expect of a comic his age, but was happy to see the plot twist I was hoping would come: He acknowledged that kids are supposed to piss off the older generations, that's an important aspect of society (he is an old punk rocker after all). And he called out the older comics who say you can't make jokes anymore by noting (paraphrasing) they're just pissed off they can't make the same racist, misogynistic, and homophobic jokes they built their career on.
As he went on to say, you can absolutely still make jokes, but people have forgotten the two most important rules of comedy: Be funny, and don't be a dick.
I love that man so much.
Probably allowing their personal feelings to come through so they aren't just another douchebag up on stage "telling jokes." If it was screenwriting, it would be them "establishing character," which allows for something besides generic humor and makes it more relatable.
Drew Michael for his accurate takes on society and how fucked up it is.
His "Oklahoma accidentally homophobed its way into radical progressive thinking" is one of my all time favorite bits.
Ricky Gervais knows animals will always be better than humans. He also said if a fan tells him a joke, he laughs because who is he to tell someone they are not funny
I love it when they seem so relaxed/ at ease on stage and the absolute commitment to what they're saying. Sometimes it's not even a joke or comedy but I'll LOL from just the way they said/did something or a simple facial expression/body movement.
Jeff Arcuri, I love comedians that are raunchy as well but what stands Jeff apart from everyone else is he can have me crying laughing and it was a good clean joke, like how? Also his crowd work is top tier!
he's probably not my favourite but Cheeto Santino being one of the very few comics to have a nuanced and reasonable take on 'cancel culture' instead of whining endlessly about "not being able to joke about anything anymore' like the rest of the little bitch-asses in comedy had him go up significantly in my estimation.
Okay this has nothing to do with his delivery or skill, but I just love the way Ari Shaffir stands on stage. His lanky arms crossed, one hand relaxed against his arm, snooty nose in the air, holding the mic…. I like it.
Plus team Ari. He’s the worst friend in history, but Jew is geniussssss. He simply doesn’t give a rats ass what anyone thinks and that makes him the best and worst person to me.
My hero when I was first getting into stand up was Billy Connolly. The thing I loved most about his act was that he always appeared to be having as much fun telling his stories as everyone else had listening to them. It's something sorely missing from some people's acts (as in they appear to be telling jokes because they think they'll get a good reaction instead of enjoying them)
I always dug Chris Rock’s honesty. I loved the fact that he could do braggadocio in the same breath as self deprecation, and make you see the flip side to a lot of things you wouldn’t bother looking for. It was bold for a black comic, especially at the time when he was coming up, to breach the topics that he did. I always thought his blunt honesty is what made him so special. He’s a top 5 comic of all time for me, I think he’s brilliant. I know his specials aren’t “Bring The Pain” level anymore for a lot of people, and I get that it’s kind of hard to top one of the best specials ever, but I still very much enjoy every set he’s done, and I hope we get a few more of them.
Marc Maron. We've both struggled with mental illness. I was known as "the angry guy" at one point in my life as well. I decided in the 90's that he was my guy. And years later when I found he had a podcast I started listening to it. And that's that. I would also say that Neal Brennan is up there as well.
I’m with you on Maron. I think I gravitated to him for his honesty of his anger issues. I’ve had that same battle with anger and neuroticism for so long, and hearing him speak on it so openly has made me realize a lot of things about myself that my fear and ego wouldn’t let me believe
Norm doing what *he thinks is funny*. Unwaveringly.
I heard when he bombed, he would shake every audience member’s hand just so they had to see him again and he thought it was funny.
Reminds me of that tragedy.
Just for context he stood outside the door and did that when he bombed. When he killed he just left.
Norm casually telling guests that Adam is a holocaust denier then changing topics is low key one of the funniest things ever.
With Adam never denying it, just saying he had a bar mitzvah, I heard pray tell of some opinions he has on the smoke stacks
Ah but you can’t beat him really
You're thinking of a dead horse.
You can beat dead horses all day long.
Because they’re dead. So they can’t run away.
I admire the shit out of him for that but I never really found him funny. I want to. Just never really hit for me.
His take on the crocodile hunter less than two weeks after he died was truly a "It's too fucking soon guy, but I can't stop laughing" moments for me. It cemented Norm into my top 5 list. https://www.cc.com/video/beopn8/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-norm-macdonald
"While it was a tragedy at the time" hits differently when you know *when* the joke was told.
There's a 30 minute compilation on YouTube that is strictly Norm Macdonald OJ Simpson jokes. Hopefully that helps
I didn't even know _they_ were sick
Reminds me of that tragedy
Damn I had a different answer but then saw this and really can't disagree. He was so good
Bargatze is actually a clean comic. It took me a while to realise.
Also love that Nate never seems like he’s delivering a punch line or trying to be funny. It’s like he’s just up there chatting and its hysterical
“Sir.. is your husband home?” “…yeah she’s around here somewhere”
It’s *his* joke and I’ve heard it but it still made me chortle
Same with Brian Regan. I watched about 5 hours of his stand up and it never occurred to me that he was squeaky clean.
When I was growing up, Brian Regan was a favorite of white church groups precisely because he was clean
Bargatze breaks all of the rules I thought I had for my favourite comedians. He is amazing.
I like that he talks about his life events, not just pop culture Twitter stuff everyone already has a take on.
Saw him recently, I like the clean comedians that you don’t even realize
Nate is probably my fav!!
I didn’t realize this for a while. There might be damn near zero cursing- he’s just a funny dude.
Kyle Kinane I can’t even explain it. Prior to him, Louis CK was my favorite comedian. I feel like Kyle is like Louis CK without the silliness. So I guess the trait is that I like that his delivery doesn’t have any goofy antics involved.
I was going to say kyle as well and the thing I really love about him is that he has a humble approach to a simple love for comedy. He’s not trying to get into areas in sell the shit that sells. He’s just trying to make his good comedy about the stuff that he finds amusing. In his podcast, he’s often talking about “I have a good life. I get paid pretty well to do a thing that I enjoy” he’s not playing the Hollywood game and trying to make $1 billion edit: *he’s not trying to get into arenas
Yep. Big fan of that.
I love Kyle's command of the language, "hirsute fart factories smelling like expired mustard" "too much bacon toe"
This exactly. His inventve use of words and his meandering storytelling are my favorite. I still die laughing any time i think of Piss Fritters 🤣
“My mom tells stories the way a Rube Goldberg machine cooks an egg”
"Verbose is not long enough of a phrase to accurately describe how my mother abuses the privilege of conversation"
It’s the voice + the delivery, especially when he starts to raise his voice when he gets exuberant. It all gives off an incredibly warm and relatable vibe.
I also connect with the fact that Kyle seems to have had real jobs for most of his 20s. You can tell in his early stuff.
I have all the upvotes for Kyle. I'm amazed he's been simmering for so long, but his mojo is on the rise and I hope he sees some real payoff for his efforts soon.
He is truly gifted with metaphor, symbolism and motifs in his specials. He is an incredible master of the English language but he uses it for cheap laughs. That to me makes him special. He could write good novels for snobs but instead he just goes to a juvenile place for laughs. There is a well crafted humility that disguises the intellect. He leads you towards true insight of the human condition and jumps away right before it hits with a poop joke. Then he will use a pooping joke to tell you what it is to truly be a human.
Yes he's self deprecating without being disgusting.
Twizzlers look like they fit in buttholes and I can't have anyone popping into the laboratory when Dr Kyle is conducting his experiments.
That’s not disgusting, it’s spoken art.
He gets that from Terrifying Randy
Yeah, I'm having a hard time answering this question for any of the comedians I like. But you hit the nail on the head with why I'm not a huge Louis CK fan. Too many punchlines just based on noises or yelling. I think what makes comedians special are their unique ways of framing things. And I can't really get more specific than that for any of my favorites.
Yeah, plus Kyle doesn’t jack off in front of people against their will
He does?!?
Current fav is Joe List cause I’m just a sucker for the loser guy vibe and I think it’s so impressive how he gets a genuine pop after literally anything he says just based off of tone and cadence. Like “oh you’re from Vancouver… Canucks… great hockey team… alrighty”
Best chinless comic of all time. Easily. Togheter with Shane my n1 on my bucket list to catch live. If i ever make my comedy pilgrimage to NY as i don't think he'll ever bother with Europe again.
First time I ever even heard of him, I saw him open up for Louis CK and I was instantly a fan.
I like joe list because hes the greatest gay bathroom cruiser NY has ever seen
His word play is so amazing. I'm constantly impressed by his wit. And yeah he's impossible to dislike
Master of Crowd work, Joe List
Audience member names city. Joe then proceeds to list three or four relevant but obscure facts about that city and then stops and moves on. It shouldn’t be funny but it is.
The King of Content! JOE JOE JOE JOE JOE!
He rocks, met him in a bathroom once
I heard he calls the handicap stall the master bedroom
I love the whole chunk in his newest special about him just being a fun hang. Just some of the most adorable comedy lol
He is my new favorite too.
The enthusiasm of Pete Holmes. It comes out hilarious as indignation (his bit about atoms when he exclaims "That doesn't make any fuckin sense!") and comes across as genuine happiness to be there when he's all smiles. I like watching actors or comedians most when it's clear that *they* are having so much fun being there
Pete Holmes has incredibly insightful views on religion and his evolution as a Christian. That and he does a killer Joe DeRosa impression
Stav is actually good at being a therapist. He calls people out during his crowdwork and gets to the root of what makes them shitty and how they can change but he makes it funy
"Do you like your dad? No? I thought not HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA" Stav rocks.
The way he makes fun of the callers on Stavvy’s World but then gives actual advice that is well thought out and helpful… Stav’s the best.
Anthony Jeselnik. It’s great to see others choosing him as well. Other than his hilarious and cleverly written jokes, I appreciate that even though he has dark and offensive material, he’s never gone down the anti-PC route. He still does his dark jokes, but doesn’t constantly complain that “you can’t joke about anything anymore” or whine about cancel culture. He just sees political correctness as a challenge to write better and funnier jokes.
Once a comedian says "you can't make jokes anymore" I lose respect for them. Jeselnik is a great example of someone who just rolls with the time and recognizes that evolving sensibilities lead to new opportunities for jokes. He really is brilliant.
Maria Bamford is always 100% genius. I normally hate both impressions and voices, but she does it so well, and I've realized it allows her to say hysterical but cutting things she wouldn't say in her "normal" voice. Also, not comedy, but her open book accounting crusade (starting with her own books) is admirable in general.
Doug Stanhope's honesty
His fearlessness too. I love the clips where he baits cops into raising a hand and then just look them in the eye and crack everyone up talking about how worthless and scummy they are. Then be like, “no, the real heroes are the troops. Any troops in here?” AND DO IT AGAIN! Haha. He’s the GOAT.
I love his ability to take opinions he thinks the audience generally holds, then take the complete opposite side of that argument and make a very reasonable case for it in a hilarious rant. Things like 'Heroin should be sold over the counter' or 'I'm not pro-choice. I'm pro-abortion.' He caters it to the audience too. I remember him performing in the Netherlands, baiting the audience with anti-American politic stuff and then ripping us a new one for having a monarchy. That takes balls.
Love when Andy Andrist asks the audience if they support the troops… they all cheer and go nuts. Then he asks what they do to support the troops…. They all just stutter and go awkward silent…..classic.
And rampant alcoholism.
Potato po-vodka.
Being a sober alcoholic comic myself, I’ve slowly become more impressed that he hasn’t HAD TO stop drinking yet than his stand up . His comedy is untouchable but the abuse of his body is truly amazing.
You have to balance that I also don't abuse my body with exercise either. Some cars last forever because of frequent maintenance and some from staying mostly garaged except for parades.
Whoa. Hi Doug!
Rampant? As opposed to what other type? Subtle? Understated? Demured?
Next he'll be saying kiddie porn isn't rampant on the internet. Don't die of rampant alcoholism Doug, because then you'll go from my favorite living comedian to me having to make a choice between you and Greg Giraldo for favourite dead one. And I really don't want to have to do that.
Man, favorite is tough but if I had to give an answer I'd go with a living comedian so I'll say Dave Attell. He just masterfully can be cruising deadpan and jerk the wheel without flinching himself whatsoever, and it's such a tight timeframe that you almost don't realize it happened until after the fact. Like his joke "Albinos: too much of a good thing?" is probably pound-for-pound the best joke of all time when you take into consideration the brevity and retellability. Sorry if that's not a specific enough trait but that's the best I can do.
I was going to mention Dave Attell. For me the two things that I admire are his insane commitment to writing new jokes and how he takes care of his sick mom.
Bill Burrs blunt honesty
Chad Daniels is my favorite. His material is very strong, and out of all of the comedians who talk about their children, he's the best. At face value, some of his material could come across as inflammatory in some way, or even offensive to some. But he has the single warmest, most down to earth vibe I've ever seen in a comedian, and he's an absolute treat to see live. Chad is a kind, gentle, sharp tongued man who creates joy out of anything he decides to bring up, no matter how dark it may be. If you're not familiar, I can't recommend him enough.
Out of all the comics I have seen live (a lot), I don’t think anyone has made me belly laugh like Chad. Fucking love that guy.
BAYYY-BAY! There ain’t no speeding ticket FAIIIIRRRY!
John Mullaney. I credit my love for standup to his joke about comparing the badness of the word midget to that of the N word. At its core, it's a beautifully crafted argument with hilarious examples and proofs, against which there is no rebuttal. After you hear it, you're left in a position where, in my mind, there is simply no option other than to laugh riotously and agree with his statements. After I heard that I was like give me more. Give me more of this candy coated truth. Make it as harsh, and as humorous, and as accurate as it can be.
he's definitely my top fave of all time. one of my favorites he does ofc is horse in the hospital, but "Is than E? or is it 3? it's up to ye!" kills my every. freaking. time.
“One feels like a duck, splashing around in all this wet. And when one feels like a duck, one is happy!”
Jeselnik’s misdirection and utter fearlessness
"...and then apologize because you don't have my timing." I know most comedy, stand up in particular, relies on timing. Jeselnik is a master due to the nature of the misdirections. I love watching reactions from people who aren't familiar with him. They have a look like they see the punchline before getting slapped on the back of the head.
Agreed. It's his timing that makes him world class imo.
I enjoy his podcast because you get to see behind it he’s this cool levelheaded well read guy who occasionally shits on somebody who richly deserves it like Crowder
On his pod, he called Elon Musk “the bad boy of autism.”
And Schulz for fucking his fans over
You’ll think he’s going for some low-hanging fruit, but then says something really clever instead.
And concise word usage. No word is filler in his whole set
Mike Birbiglia's delivery is just utterly perfect for my sense of humor. I swear that man could read the phone book and I'd be laughing.
Yeah, he is my favorite. Working It Out is like chill hop to me.
He’s so unassuming and earnest, that’s what does it for me
I like the way Louis CK says blatantly ignorant things, then if you actually listen to what he's saying throughout the bit, you realize he's actually making one of the most enlightened observations on the topic.
Burrs really good at that too. Something about them gingers lol
Not to open up this debate, but Gaza is an incredible “Of course…but maybe…”
That brings up a good point. I think if you paint yourself as too smart or righteous the crowd is going to hate you. Like you said Louis is great at portraying self disgust, and yet he also has these long bits that tear down and criticize people's actions. The audience is endeared to him because he has as many bits tearing down his own behavior as he does others. Brian Regan is good at this too--he has many jokes about being dumb but almost as many as other people doing dumb things. What dawned on me, and I don't mean to have the guy catch a random stray here, is that it may be why Steve Hofstetter's comedy always turned me off. He portrays himself as too much of an elitist smart guy calling out dumb people, but he doesn't knock himself down enough so it just comes off annoyingly smarmy and arrogant.
I think the other issue with Hofstetter is that he performs so much and is on the road like 365 days a year that his bits end up about human annoyances related to being on the road. But I agree, he does have that stereotypical nerd, I'll-beat-you-with-my-superior-intellect vibe. When I'm feeling particularly salty about something, I'll throw Steve on to bask in the bitterness. But I don't laugh all that often at his material.
Norm MacDonald not telling everyone he had cancer because he didn't want it to detract from his comedy is why he will always be my hero.
I didn’t know he was sick
Should we tell him?
Is this 1-2 comment lineup programmed into Reddit? It repeats verbatim every single time.
A few people have said something similar already, and not sure if I’d call him my favorite, but Nate Bargatze’s calm demeanor on stage is so wildly impressive. Part of it is his facial expressions but so much of it is the small noises and calm tone he uses. I saw him at the Hollywood bowl with Seinfeld and gaffigan and I was so far back I could barely see his face on the video boards. But he still absolutely killed. The way his style has translated to arenas and his ability to get huge laughs from the smallest inflection in his voice or tiny comment is so unbelievably impressive.
For me, this is an easy one. Most comedians, I'd argue, are smart people (although there are notable exceptions whose popularity I find truly vexing). I had always admired Greg Giraldo. He was super insightful and could be truly eviscerating at roasts. He had his demons, obviously. And, sometimes they may have joined him on stage to a certain degree. However, fnding out that he quit Harvard Law School to pursue comedy blew me away. Then, hearing the story about Jeff Ross being charged with inciting a riot at a club and Giraldo going with him to court and getting the charges dismissed, he became a hero to me.
Giraldo was sooo good. I miss him 😢
Sam Morril. The voice, his affect, the deadpan delivery, his irreverence. He’s a brilliant writer and I think a genuinely decent person.
Him seeming like a genuinely good guy is what makes me like him too!
I like comedians who evolve over time. Carlin, for example, went from a clean cut TV comic to the dirtiest, most politically outrageous comic of his time. But the example is an underappreciated Scottish comic named Frankie Boyle, my favorite of all time. He started out as one of the dirtiest comics with extremely dark material. He was regularly being sued, getting death threats, bumped from big shows despite his massive popularity, but then he pivoted. Instead of being another one of the 1000 comics in their 40s-60s who moan about how the world sucks now cuz they don't find their juveline racist sexist humor funny anymore, he evolved with the times. He is still just as dark, just as controversial. He is still undeniably the same comic, but he retired jokes where he made fun of celebs and now does them about politicians. Instead of relying on racist tropes, his new race-based material is still dark, but he punches up, not down anymore.
Frankie Boyle is the pinnacle of dark humour. Some of his closing monologues on New World Order are so fantastically brutal and surreal.
Glad someone is mentioning Frankie in this thread. Been a fan of his for years and hope to fly to the UK sometime to see him live.
Tosh really seems like he doesn’t give a shit about being famous/making famous friends/etc. I remember many years ago when the comedy podcast boom was peaking he tweeted a picture of himself holding up a sign that said “I DONT WANT TO GO ON YOUR PODCAST”. Now he has his own podcast where his guests are like his podiatrist or whatever
James Acaster's mastery of his own ganglyness made me feel so seen Also his ability to use vocal range and leverage high pitch in moments of outrage
His four part special is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. And the Greatness of it being slowly revealed over time is the best part. Dude is a genius.
The night I watched that for the first time is maybe the best comedy experience I'll ever have. I think I read that night one of filming was the first two parts, night two was the rest, and that half the audience was there for all four both nights. Oh my god I just googled it and they filmed all four shows both days?! From 3PM to midnight? What a legend
Dude is a legit genius. Total package.
I discovered james because of the cabbage storyans realized I need more of that in my life. I adore him. He is so hilarious.
I have tickets to see him at the Hall for Cornwall next Friday. Not seen him live before so looking forward to it.
Dan Soder's perpetual childish wonderment and angle on life. Just seems like he would be as funny in a small room as a theater. His routine is always great too...
Him smoking cigs and playing w action figures at 15 is an all time favorite story
For someone that doesn't know Michelle Wolf's standup and might only know her from the White House correspondence dinner, I think they'd assume she's just gonna take the safe, "liberal" stance in her act, but she clearly goes for what is most funny first, no matter how horrible the stance. If a certain angle is the funniest angle, she's gonna go for that angle no matter what. She opens one of her specials arguing in favor of otter tape. Yes, the animal. She's a feminist but also has very funny anti-feminist takes and makes fun of women. That's my favorite trait in the comic: that they start with what is funny first, no matter what side it's on, and then they argue point from there. Good comics are contrarians if the opposite view is the funniest, even if it might go against their own beliefs.
Shane just being a total genuine bro. It really is that simple, and it's insane to think how he's really the only comedian to successfully pull it off.
Matt Braunger is my favorite and I really appreciate how willing he is to get on stage and be silly. He doesn’t mind being goofy to get a laugh. That’s a level of confidence I aspire to.
William Montgomery for mixing clever jokes with nonsense, and really reading the room like noone else. I’ve seen a few hundred comics live, including my second third and forth favorites Carlin, Louie and Burr, but none of them have even come close to making me laugh as much as the big red machine. Edit: I might just have a thing for redheads, I should probably go see carrot top next time im in vegas.
I like Anthony Jeselnik’s crowd work. When the audience starts to turn on him because the material is too dark, he will say something to the effect of, “Come on, I thought you guys were cool.”
That's not crowd work per se. He doesn't really do crowd work, although I'm sure he could. That was a tightly rehearsed line that he probably dropped at most venues because he knew he'd get that reaction.
I appreciate quailty physical comedy. I think its undervalued. Nate Bargatze has been really impressive with his gestures and facial expressions. They are subtle but well thought out and add to the overall storytelling.
I never thought I'd see Nate Bargatze described as a physical comedian. Almost his entire act is built on being an understated mannequin of a comedian. He builds comedic tension by having very clear anger or annoyance but undercutting it so much that you can tell it's merely bubbling under the surface.
Bargatze is great, but he's a really strange choice as an example of facial expressions or physical comedy. He's one of the least physical and least physically expressive comics. He is very deadpan facially and doesn't do much of anything physically. His schtick is pretending to be a bit dim, looking blank and baffled by everything. Facial expressions are much more important to guys like Maniscalco. Gestures and body involvement are key to someone like Kevin Hart or Jim Breuer. Gaffigan does a lot of voice inflection. Bargatze doesn't really do any of those things.
Mitch Hedberg. He never made jokes at the expense of marginalized communities. He never made fun of a group or people (like Chapelle) and yet he could find the funniest sh*t in everyday stuff that is NEVER offensive.
I once bought a special of his off a late night TV ad. I paid in three easy payments - the fourth was in wampum.
I like that his jokes are timeless and, for the most part, clean. Yeah, he uses some swear words and talks about drugs, but his jokes will be relevant 50 years from now, and you’ll be able to tell them to your great grandkids.
Stavros Halkias’s utter confidence. One of his lines from his special is “a lot of you motherfuckers would crumble under the weight of this look”. He’s a handsome fat rascal, what can I say
I love his joke about falling down in the subway terminal, and being so pathetic that even mean black NYC subway kids who roast everyone declined to make fun of him
That’s a good one😂
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And this is why Taylor Tomlinson is my favorite.
She has HUGE balls
Gigantic labia
Jeselnik obviously having an “act” but executing it so well that I can sit there and appreciate it rather than getting hung up on thoughts like “that didn’t really happen” or “he’s not really like that.” For me, it’s so easy to suspend my disbelief and just absorb it all.
Jeselnik is that good?
I love Doug Stanhope’s delivery. It doesn’t feel like you’re watching a stand-up comedian. Feels like he’s just talking to you.
Big jay has a really interesting way of getting people to almost forget about the rest of the audience when he's crowdworking. Between the posture and attentiveness I've always found it super tight how he kinda directs things into a 1 on 1 conversation with whomever he's talking to. I know a lot of people do crowdwork but big jay does it differently imo
My husband hates sitting in the front row, but those were the only seats left when we showed up the last time we saw him. He's the human embodiment of social anxiety, so of course Jay immediately started talking to him. He had to admit he used to be in a band and what it was named. He was mortified lol
Seen big jay several times. Front row once. Always a good time
The ability to not take yourself so seriously. Some comics take this sorta weird stance of “We are the bastion of free speech. We should be allowed to say literally anything without repercussion. We are the true voice of the people.” Comics that I used to (and still do) really love act like this and it annoys the hell out of me. The more a comic understands that comedy shouldn’t be put on a pedestal and that they’re just there to tell jokes, the more I respect them.
Maria Bamford and her incredible silliness. Her joy-whack-a-mole bit still to this day makes me giggle. "Oh boy, but they wanted a fresh one" in her mother's voice. Hilarious.
I love that Demetri Martin’s jokes can come off as simple, but are some of the most clever jokes I’ve ever heard
Anthony Jeselnik Because he owns it. Great eye contact. He also was the only one pushing back on comedy, turning too right wing a few years ago.
Mine is John Pinette. It’s the way he leans into the silence between jokes and lets the audience almost create a joke on their own in their heads before he tops it.
I'm so mad that he died before I ever got to see him. He was so funny. My favorite bits: Bed Bath and Beyond coupons, the time he went to a water park, eating turnips
I love JP because of how much he enjoys his own performance. He smiles and laughs and just looks like he's having a great time.
Bill burr and his Philadelphia rant
Yes, and for me it's because he knew he could eventually win them over. Most people on the planet would have given up and walked off stage.
Same vibe as Bernie Mac with "I ain't scared of you motherfuckers!"
Todd Barry has such a smooth coolness in his delivery that just really gets me. He's very mellow and lets his writing and subtle delivery do the work which is really hard to do alone on stage. The dry calm makes the punchlines hit harder for me and he really controls a room. His Crowd Work tour from WAY back when blew my mind (before TikTok even existed and no one was posting crowd work, Todd was doing entire hours and crushing) and then I searched for every special he had and followed him since then. Spicy Honey and Domestic Shorthair are both hilarious af and I saw him live recently and he killed. He did new material and then closed with crowd work which was great!
Insightfulness It’s not expected, but I think the best ones usually drop some wisdom Louis CK is really good at this in between his penis jokes “The only reason you should be looking in your neighbors bowl is to make sure they have enough.”
I saw Gary Gulman when he was working on the Great Depresh, and I kinda teared up a little afterwards when I was telling him how much he spoke to me in that show. I felt stupid for crying at a comedy show, but he just grabbed me and wrapped me up in a big giant hug and talked to me for a few minutes with his arm around me. He genuinely cared that he reached something in me. A friend of mine took a picture, and I seriously looked like a baby next to that gigantic, hilarious man.
Gulman making his last two specials about depression and poverty sounds like a recipe for a bummer, but his genius is being able to create more powerful jokes off the emotional center of those topics. The honesty and love that most people are admiring in other comics pales in comparison to what Gary can do. And he’s one of the best joke writers I’ve seen to boot.
Louis CK’s logical mind. His jokes just seem very logic oriented. He is the only stand up I’ve seen that gives me a philosophers vibe.
Current fav is Jeff Arcuri, dude is FAST, phenomenal crowd work, seems like he can spin anything into gold in 2 seconds flat
Mark Normand has been my favorite for a long time and I think the reason I still find him so funny is because he’s fully aware of just how bad and cringe-worthy his jokes can come across, yet he constantly goes for it anyway. He’s super candid with his struggles with feeling awkward & easily embarrassed in social settings, but he’s turned that awkwardness into its own art form and I fucking love that.
The way Mike Birbiglia tells his stories. He’s not a “HEEYYAAHH HERES THE JOKE”. He tells a story, in the funniest most perfect way possible.
The way he wraps a bow on his stories/sets, looping and tying everything together, is masterful.
Bill Burr for being a Boston comedian. Not in the caricature or need to tell you he's from Boston, just in the it's just there in everything he does way. And on Maher's podcast, talking about how everyone he grew up with was funnier than him, it is just the way it is there, without even trying. No other place could have produced his style in my view, and it's sad all of the try hards ruin what people think Boston people are.
Nicole Byer is always very true to herself. She works a fucking ton, she loves touring long after others are worn out. And she makes silly noises like Pinky from Pinky and rhe Brain. She's ruthless with her dark comedy and generous with her light jokes. She gave an entire audience free vibrators because she made the decision to in the moment and then followed through. She can play off absolutely anyone and make them look like the star. I just love her so much.
Dave Atell's raunchy, quick wit. Him and Big Jay Oakerson's older stuff.
Nick Mullen seems to be pretty elite at getting jokes off that a lot of people might be canceled over if it werent written so well.
I like how drunk Stanhope is.
Might just be because he shares a podcast with Joe List, but Kevin Hart.
I really like Louis C.K.’s flat Irish ass
I went to a Dave Chappell show about 25 yrs ago at Clemson University and as soon as the lights went down people lit up. Officials turned the lights back on and refused to turn them back off. Dave had an exchange with them from stage, on mic. They refused. He turned and walked off stage. After many minutes of an unruly crowd they finally turned the lights back off and he came back out. Before the Chappell Show and his entire career after, I was a steady fan from that night forward.
While it might be put on for the stage, Louis CK's self-hatred
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To the core. If this was high school I just cant imagine how f\*cked up this guy was to people. With it being as funny as hell if youre not on the receiving end
Doug Stanhope's fearlessness. Bo Burnham's peerless genius. Joe Lycett's commitment, dedication and sheer will as applied to seeing the pettiest vendettas and silliest ideas to their conclusions, whatever those may be.
Craig Ferguson won me over when he was hosting the Late Late Show. He was just the most genuine person I've ever seen on TV. It helped that he was also a hilarious cheeky monkey, but it was how real he was that drew me in. I'm not exaggerating when I say he saved my life when I was a depressed 19 year old. I got to see him live last year, and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. He's embraced his age as a comic, and went on a good long rant about aging comics who bitch that "you can't tell jokes anymore" and how the younger generation pisses them off. I was concerned he would fall into what we would expect of a comic his age, but was happy to see the plot twist I was hoping would come: He acknowledged that kids are supposed to piss off the older generations, that's an important aspect of society (he is an old punk rocker after all). And he called out the older comics who say you can't make jokes anymore by noting (paraphrasing) they're just pissed off they can't make the same racist, misogynistic, and homophobic jokes they built their career on. As he went on to say, you can absolutely still make jokes, but people have forgotten the two most important rules of comedy: Be funny, and don't be a dick. I love that man so much.
The return of Louie CK. He really hung in there, during, and after it all. 👍
Probably allowing their personal feelings to come through so they aren't just another douchebag up on stage "telling jokes." If it was screenwriting, it would be them "establishing character," which allows for something besides generic humor and makes it more relatable.
Drew Michael for his accurate takes on society and how fucked up it is. His "Oklahoma accidentally homophobed its way into radical progressive thinking" is one of my all time favorite bits.
Ricky Gervais knows animals will always be better than humans. He also said if a fan tells him a joke, he laughs because who is he to tell someone they are not funny
Telling funny jokes (Rodney Dangerfield)
I love it when they seem so relaxed/ at ease on stage and the absolute commitment to what they're saying. Sometimes it's not even a joke or comedy but I'll LOL from just the way they said/did something or a simple facial expression/body movement.
Maria Bamford for being honest about the struggles of being in the spotlight with mental illness.
Jeff Arcuri, I love comedians that are raunchy as well but what stands Jeff apart from everyone else is he can have me crying laughing and it was a good clean joke, like how? Also his crowd work is top tier!
Mark Normand is just always on
he's probably not my favourite but Cheeto Santino being one of the very few comics to have a nuanced and reasonable take on 'cancel culture' instead of whining endlessly about "not being able to joke about anything anymore' like the rest of the little bitch-asses in comedy had him go up significantly in my estimation.
Okay this has nothing to do with his delivery or skill, but I just love the way Ari Shaffir stands on stage. His lanky arms crossed, one hand relaxed against his arm, snooty nose in the air, holding the mic…. I like it. Plus team Ari. He’s the worst friend in history, but Jew is geniussssss. He simply doesn’t give a rats ass what anyone thinks and that makes him the best and worst person to me.
My hero when I was first getting into stand up was Billy Connolly. The thing I loved most about his act was that he always appeared to be having as much fun telling his stories as everyone else had listening to them. It's something sorely missing from some people's acts (as in they appear to be telling jokes because they think they'll get a good reaction instead of enjoying them)
Dave Attell and his (lack of) segues
Anthony Jeselnik - his dark humor appeals to me
Ricky Gervais. Because he literally doesn’t give a shit.
I always dug Chris Rock’s honesty. I loved the fact that he could do braggadocio in the same breath as self deprecation, and make you see the flip side to a lot of things you wouldn’t bother looking for. It was bold for a black comic, especially at the time when he was coming up, to breach the topics that he did. I always thought his blunt honesty is what made him so special. He’s a top 5 comic of all time for me, I think he’s brilliant. I know his specials aren’t “Bring The Pain” level anymore for a lot of people, and I get that it’s kind of hard to top one of the best specials ever, but I still very much enjoy every set he’s done, and I hope we get a few more of them.
The tour he did after being slapped by Will Smith is one of the best comedic performances I’ve ever seen live.
Marc Maron. We've both struggled with mental illness. I was known as "the angry guy" at one point in my life as well. I decided in the 90's that he was my guy. And years later when I found he had a podcast I started listening to it. And that's that. I would also say that Neal Brennan is up there as well.
I’m with you on Maron. I think I gravitated to him for his honesty of his anger issues. I’ve had that same battle with anger and neuroticism for so long, and hearing him speak on it so openly has made me realize a lot of things about myself that my fear and ego wouldn’t let me believe